How Radiation affects the Haematological Count on the Cellphone Users

 

Balaji. V¹*, R. Gayatri Devi²

¹First year BDS student, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Chennai-600 077

²Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Chennai-600 077

 

ABSTRACT:

Aim: The aim of this study is how the cell phone radiation affects the haematological count. Objective: To create the awareness among the cellphone users affecting their count of RBC's and WBC's Count. Background:  This study is going to be done with 15 people of age group 18 - 25, Group 1:Cellphone users less than 1 hour per day, Group 2:Cellphone users more than 5 hours per day, The RBC and WBC count of both the group people are compared to conclude the result of the study. Reasons: Usage of Cell phones have became common among people, This study was done to create awareness among those who are prone to radiation.

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

Mobile or cell phones are now a days an integral part of modern telecommunications in every individual life. In many countries, over half of the population uses mobile phones and the mobile phone market is growing rapidly. Saudi Arabia rank first among the countries of the gulf region with highest proportion of mobile users, a study conducted by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In gulf countries, Oman ranked second, followed by Kuwait and the UAE. As billions of people use mobile phones globally, a small increase in the incidence of adverse effects on health could have major public health implications on long term basis. Besides the number of cell phone calls per day, the length of each call and the amount of time people use cell phones are important factors which enhance the health related risk. (1)

 

Mobile phones emit radiofrequency energy, a form of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation, which can be absorbed by tissues close to the phone. The amount of radiofrequency energy a mobile phone user is exposed depend on many factors as the technology of the phone, the distance between the phone and the user, the extent and type of mobile phone use and the user’s distance from cell phone towers. (2)

 

In 2011, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified mobile phone radiation possibly carcinogenic, means that there “could be some risk” of carcinogenicity, so additional research into the long-term, heavy use of mobile phones needs to be conducted. (3) While an increased risk of brain tumors from the use of mobile phones is not established, the increasing use of mobile phones and the lack of data for mobile phone use over time periods longer than 15 years warrant further research of mobile phone use and brain cancer risk. In particular, with the recent popularity of mobile phone use among younger people, potentially longer lifetime of exposure, WHO has promoted further research on this group and is currently assessing the health impact of RF fields on all studied endpoints. A cohort study in Denmark linked billing information from more than 358,000 cell phone subscribers with brain tumor incidence data from the Danish Cancer Registry. The analyses found no association between cell phone use and the incidence of glioma, meningioma, or acoustic neuroma, even among people who had been cell phone subscribers for 13 or more years. (4)

 

The American Cancer Society (ACS) states that the IARC classification means that there could be some risk associated with cancer, but the evidence is not strong enough to be considered causal and needs to be investigated further. Individuals who are concerned about radiofrequency exposure can limit their exposure, including using an ear piece and limiting cell phone use, particularly among children. (5)

 

Scientists have reported adverse health effects of using mobile phones including changes in brain activity, reaction times, and sleep patterns. More studies are underway to try to confirm these findings. When mobile phones are used very close to some medical devices (including pacemakers, implantable defibrillators, and certain hearing aids) there is the possibility of causing interference with their operation. There is also the potential of interference between mobile phones signals and aircraft electronics. Some countries have licensed mobile phone use on aircraft during flight using systems that control the phone output power.

 

Research has shown an increased risk of traffic accidents, about 3–4 times greater chance of an accident, when mobile phones (either handheld or with a “hands-free” kit) are used while driving due to distraction. (6)

 

Children have the potential to be at greater risk than adults for developing brain cancer from cell phones. Their nervous systems are still developing and therefore more vulnerable to factors that may cause cancer.

 

The FDA (7) have suggested steps to reduce the exposure to radiofrequency energy:

 

Reserve the use of cell phones for shorter conversations or for times when a landline phone is not available.

Use a hands-free device, which places more distance between the phone and the head of the user.

 

METHODOLOGY:

This study was conducted with 30 people of age group 18 - 25,

Group 1: Cellphone users less than 1 hour per day, (15 People)

Group 2: Cellphone users more than 5 hours per day, (15 People)

The RBC and WBC count of both the group people was compared to conclude the result of the study,

 

RESULT:

People who were using cell phones for more than 6 hours show a slight decrease in WBC and RBC count when compared with those using cell phones for less than 1 hour a day

 

DISCUSSION:

Life today cannot exist without cell phones. Where usage of them have become increasingly pervasive and such a common part of our daily lives that most people never think twice about using them and carrying them on their body all day long. In this study the results can be evidently seen in the test subjects who were using their cell phones for more than 6 hours. This damaged their RBC and WBC count. Where the study which was conducted by johansen concluded that cell phone radiation damaging the DNA inside living cells.(5) which showed a similar effect. Where In 2011, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified mobile phone radiation possibly carcinogenic, means that there “could be some risk” of carcinogenicity, so additional research into the long-term, heavy use of mobile phones needs to be conducted.(3) Accordingto the study which was done in 1990, before there even was a consumer cell phone industry, at least two dozen epidemiological studies on humans indicated a link between electromagnetic fields (EMF) and/or radio frequencies (RF) and serious health problems, including childhood leukaemia.(4) Alas, researchers have demonstrated that wireless phones and other gadgets have the potential to cause all sorts of health problems, from headaches to brain tumors, with young children being at greatest risk.

 

CONCLUSION:

Usage of cell phones have become common among people, This study was done to create among those who are prone to radiation. There are two main ways radiation can damage DNA inside living cells. Radiation can strike the DNA molecule directly, ionizing and damaging it. Alternately, radiation can ionize water molecules, producing free radicles that react with and damage DNA molecules. So this is how the living cells get affected due to cell phone radiation

 

REFERENCE:

1.       Electromagnetic fields and public health: mobile phones. available at URL: http://www.who.int/mediacentre /factsheets/fs193/en/

2.       Volkow ND, Tomasi D, Wang GJ, et al. Effects of cell phone radiofrequency signal exposure on brain glucose metabolism. JAMA. 2011; 305(8):808–813. [PMC free article] [PubMed]

3.       Frei P, Poulsen AH, Johansen C, et al. Use of mobile phones and risk of brain tumours: update of Danish cohort study. British Medical Journal. 2011; 343:d6387. [PMC free article] [PubMed]

4.       The Interphone Study Group. Brain tumour risk in relation to mobile telephone use: results of the INTERPHONE international case-control study. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2010; 39(3):675–694. [PubMed]

5.       Johansen C, Boice J, Jr, McLaughlin J, Olsen J. Cellular telephones and cancer: a nationwide cohort study in Denmark. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2001; 93(3):203–207. [PubMed]

6.       Ryan Gorman. [March 2014]. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ news/article-2591148/

7.       http://www.fda.gov/Radiation, Emitting Products/Radiation.

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted on 25.05.2017          © RJPT All right reserved